Analysts: curved-screened iPhone 8 to come in 5″ and 5.8″ varieties with bezel-free design

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 11, 2016

After analyzing the latest chatter in Apple's supply chain following a trip to Asia this week, Barclays Research analysts predicted the Cupertino firm will offer a next-generation 'iPhone 8' in 2017 in two sizes, one with a screen measuring five inches and the other featuring a 5.8-inch display.

Because the handsets will utilize curved screens, they're expected to have a bezel-less design allowing them to increase display size while retaining the same overall size as the current 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhones.

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Foxconn revenue rises on brisk iPhone 7 sales, but earnings fall due to losses at Sharp

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 11, 2016

Foxconn Technology Group, the world’s top contract manufacturer and the biggest assembler of Apple products, reported rising revenues for the September quarter and a decline in net profit. Revenue for the July-September quarter climbed from NT$1.066 trillion ($33.43 billion) a year earlier to NT$1.075 trillion ($33.7 billion) thanks to brisk sales of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.

However, losses produced by Foxconn-owned electronics maker Sharp caused net profit to fall to NY$34.6 billion ($1.09 billion) from NY$37.9 billion ($1.19 billion) a year earlier.

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Instagram confirms live video streaming is coming to its mobile app

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 11, 2016

According to Instagram co-founder and CEO Kevin Systrom in the Financial Times newspaper this morning, the popular photo-sharing service will be gaining the ability to stream live video. “Live is really exciting for us,” Systrom said without detailing when it'll launch in the mobile app. Russian news outlet Tjournal.ru was first to report that Instagram appears to have been testing the upcoming feature with a subset of its Russian users.

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Spotify to fix a bug in desktop app causing massive data writes that could reduce SSD lifespan

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 11, 2016

Spotify's desktop app for Mac, Windows and Linux has been found to be continuously writing massive amounts of data to local storage for no apparent reason—even when the app is simply sitting idle. As noted in Spotify's support forum, on Reddit and elsewhere, users are seeing the desktop app write tens of gigabytes of data to local storage every minute or so. On systems outfitted with SSDs like most Macs, excessive data writes can reduce the lifetime of flash storage.

That's because SSDs have a finite amount of write capacity and are prone to wear and tear. A Spotify spokesperson told ArsTechnica that a fix was underway via an update that's being rolled out as we speak.

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Apple screen supplier Japan Display could receive government bailout

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 11, 2016

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Apple supplier Japan Display could receive a bailout of around ¥75 billion ($703 million) from the government-backed fund Innovation Network Corp. of Japan (INCJ), which is its largest shareholder with a 36 percent share.

People familiar with the matter said that the display maker might receive new financing from INCJ through an issuance of subordinated bonds and may possibly get “additional support” from the fund.

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EmojiSuggest brings iOS 10-like emoji suggestions to the predictive keyboard

Anthony Bouchard ∙ November 11, 2016

One of the cool new features of iOS 10 is the ability to input Emojis through the predictive row at the top of the keyboard that tries to guess what you're trying to say before you say it.

When you express certain words, iOS 10 will recommend Emojis to communicate the word instead, and a new free jailbreak tweak called EmojiSuggest brings this functionality to jailbroken iOS 9 devices as well.

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Apple launches new ‘iBooks StoryTime’ app on tvOS

Cody Lee ∙ November 10, 2016

Apple on Thursday quietly launched a new app for tvOS called "iBooks StoryTime." It's a children's app that allows them to read along with their favorite [compatible] books using special features built for television.

These features include enhanced audio with unique character voices, sound effects and of course narration that makes it both easy and entertaining for kids to follow along with on their own devices or physical book.

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Proposed new emoji for Unicode 10 include a zombie, sandwich and exploding head

Cody Lee ∙ November 10, 2016

The Unicode Consortium has proposed adding 51 new emoji to the upcoming Unicode 10 release. Emojipedia points to the filing, which has been posted on the Unicode.org website and features a full list of the suggested new characters.

As you can see in the image above, the proposed emoji include a giraffe, cup with a straw, a vampire and a zebra. And digging through the list in the filing reveals even more interesting images such as "shocked face with exploding head."

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Apple’s free app of the week: Perchang

Cody Lee ∙ November 10, 2016

Apple on Thursday updated its App of the Week promotion with the game Perchang. This means that for the next 7 days, you'll be able to download the popular puzzler for free on both iPhone and iPad—a solid savings of $2.

Perchang is kind of a cross between pinball and a physics puzzler that exercises your brain and tests your coordination. Use flippers, magnets, portals, fans and other gizmos to guide tiny marbles to their goal to win each level.

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Ireland is cheering in favor of Apple in EU state aid tax ruling

Christian Zibreg ∙ November 10, 2016

In August, the European Commission slammed Apple with a tax bill from hell over a sweetheart deal it received from Ireland—which, in the Commission's view, constitutes “illegal state aid”.

Dublin promptly promised to join Apple's fight against EU and it's put its money where its mouth is.

Michael Noonan, Finance Minister in the Irish government, said that Dublin today challenged the EU judgment by submitting an appeal to the European courts in a bid to block the decision, ArsTechnica reports.

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